Improvement in means for towing canal-boats



ivrrnn STATES PATENT rrrcn.

TIMOTHY J. OTOOLE, OF BROOKLYN NW YORK.

MPRQVEMENT IN MEANS FOR TWING CANAL-BOATS, &e.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent NOJLFGS, dated February 17,1874; application filed January 28, 12574. A

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, TIMOTHY J. OTooLE, of Brooklyn, in the county ofKings and State of New York, have invented a certain new and usefulMethod of Combining Rail and Tater in the Transport-ation of Freight 5and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it pertains to make and use it, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, which form part of this speciiication, in which-Figures l and 2 are plan views of system of railway arranged accordingto the requirements of my invention. Fig.` 3 is a side view of railwaysystem. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view.

My invention has for its object to provide a method of towing canal andother boats, whereby said boats may be moved with as great speed asdesired through the water without causing a greater swell, commotion, 0rdisplacement than results from the ordinary method of towing byhorse-power.

The nature of my invention consists in the application or employment ofa moving and sustaining force or power above the boats, in such mannerthat the latter are not only drawn or driven through or upon the water,but are elevated at any desired distance therein, so as to proportionthe resistance met according to the velocity sought to be obtained.

In carrying this invention into effect the canals are supposed just asthey are, or with such modifications or additions aswill give effect tothe object in view.

Above the canal, or over it, is to be erected a trestle-work or elevatedrailway, at a height proper to meet the necessities ot' locks, bridges,traflic, dto., the track to rest on, or be sustained by, transversebeams supported by arches, piers, or columns located at proper intervalsalong the sides and in the center of the canal, or at thesides or in thecenter alone, as may be considered most desirable or expedient. Thiselevated road will embrace two tracks along the whole line of the canal,built in sections equal to each level between locks, and at a uniformheight above the level of the water. On each track the running-gear oflan engine, or any equivalent locomotive or traction power, will bearranged and combined with a series of trucks or frames on wheels, to beconnected by arms or uprights with the boats, in such manner that thelatter may be readily raised and lowered in the water at will, so as toincrease or diminish the draft, as hereinafter fully explained.

Each section of this elevated road will ter minate at the lock as to thedouble track, but will be continued in a single track above and beyondthe lock, at least as far beyond as the engine and tender will reach. y

The portion of the track on which the en gine and tender stand outbeyond the lock will be movable or adjustable,` and will be raised andlowered by any suitable mechan-l ical means, so as to provide for thetransfer of said engine and tender from level to level at the locks, theboats being themselves locked through in the usual or in any suitable`manner.

The `elevated road will be built in such manner and proportion as to becapable of sustaining the boat and cargo, so that the weight of thelatter may be borne in part by the water and part by the track, ashereinafter set forth.

From this combination of wat-er and rail support arise the specialadvantages of my inventionnamely, increase of specdof boats anddiminution of injury to the canal-banks.

To illustrate, take a boat with `its, cargo weighing two hundred tonsand drawing four feet of water. water untilher draft is diminished byonethird, it will be found that about one-half of the weight, or onehundred tons, is sustained upon the rail and the area of resistanceofthe water is diminished in about the same proportion-namely, one-half.Now, if the area be diminished, the velocity may be proporf tionatelyincreased, and only the same amount of resistance, and consequentdisplacement of water and injury to the banks, be sustained. Besides,boats in motion tend to press prow downward into the water, thistendency being in proportion to weight and velocity, and challengeresistance in the opposite direction-c'. e., upwardly-thus disturbingthe water violently from its very depths ,to the great injury of thelower parts of the canal-banks. This disadvantage is overcome by myinvention, as the weight of the boat and cargo is divided between therail and water, and there can be no downward movement ofthe prow, itbeing kept at the same distance from the rail at which it was adjustedin starting, whether the velocity be increased or not. l

In carrying this method. into effect, there If the boat be raised outofthe will be two tracks above each level of the canal, and. they maybe ofthe very narrowest gage. rlhese tracks will require no sleepers, beinglaid on longitudinal beams, duly supported, as already mentioned. Eachtrack will be clear from end to end for the locomotive, the power ofwhich will be communicated from its driving-wheels to trucks or frameson wheels, (connected with the boat or boats beneath,) running either onthe same track with the locomotive, or on a special track forthemselves, a little below7 the track of the engine. The boats will beconnected with these trucks, or with equivalent wheels, by upright armsor bars, either attached permanently to the boa-t, and easily elevatedto their places on the axles above, or, perhaps better, attachedpermanently to saidaxles, and arranged so as to be easily dropped toconnect with the boats. Manifestly, account must be taken in buildingboats, or in adjusting; those already built, for this combination, ofthe strength required in them for the partial suspension designed.

The movement of freight by this combination of rail and water carriersmay be accomplished in either of `two ways-inst, by locomotive steam orother power that never passes a lock 5 second, by locomotive steam orother power that takes the boat and cargo from one end of the routetothe other, passing all the locks. In the ljrst way, it would besufficient to have one engine on each level, lwhich engine would do allthe work both for ascending and descending boats, delivering them,respectively, at their locks, and passing back and forth along' thatlevel, as would be required. Having delivered its burden at one lock,the engine would return to the lock at the other end of the level foranother cargo, its return trip being made at a high rate oi' speed if itwent back unburdened, and at a comparatively great velocity even ifattached to light ascending boats.

It might thus be found possible to operate each level, or at least thelonger levels, by one central track alone, taking down the cargo,landtaking up the light boats or ascending freight, by means of saidsingle track. This would give proportionate relief to canal-banks,removing the disturbing force to the center, and keeping it alwaysthere.Ilt would also facilitate movements by preventing the crowding of boatsin narrow reaches ofthe canal, and thereby lessen the chances ofaccident by collision. It would be entirely practicable on the longerlevels, where descending or ascending boats would have room to be drawnaside above or below the lock. On such long levels it would be onlynecessary to deiiect graduallyT the single track into a double track ata proper distance from the lock at each end of the levelon the one sideto give room to the waiting boats to form in. line beneath the track,and have all their connections with the running-gear completed whilethey wait, and

.thus be ready to start when the engine arrived to take them; on theother side, to a-llow the descending freighted boats to approach thelocks and pass on their way.

In the second way, the same engine passes the locks, continuing to theend of the route, or any other terminus, with the descending boats andcargo, and returns, bringing up the light boats or another cargo.

Thus the two tracks above the canal become, one a descending track, theother an.

ascending track, and it is obvious that as many engines as the traflicrequired might be employed. To pass the locks, the engine will require,first, that, descending, or above the locks, the two tracks run into oneright above the lock, and this one track be carried out beyond the lock,and below it, far enough to carry the engine and tender clear of thelock and all its belongings; secondly, the section of track on which theengine, &c., stands thus out clear of the lock, must be laterally andvertically adjustable, so as, on the one hand, to be capable ofconnecting' with each track on the next level just below the lock, and,on the other, to be capable of beingV raised and lowered for purposes ofdescent and ascent. This double need of lateral and vertical adjustmentis met by shape or make of, rail and road, or by a turn-table, and byordinary elevating devices, or other suitable mechanism, com prehendin ga stationary engine, which may be further utilized to facilitate thelocking through of the boats.

The mode of operation last described-mamely, by steam or otherlocomotive power that continues from one end of the route to the other,passing over intervening lockshas this peculiar advantage, that it maybe utilized in winter, when the canals are frozen up, by running regularfreight-trains over the tracks within the safe capacity of the railway.Manifestly, in constructing the railway, account should be taken of thisprobable use, and the pillars and other supporting apparatus should bemade of such proportions and strength as will permit this applicationwith safety.

It is obvious that the above principle may, under certain circumstances,be applied with advantage-to the transportation ot' boats on other water-eourses beside canals-. c., in cases where it may be desired,whileretaining the cargo or burden in the boat, to decrease the draft of thelatter by imposing a portion of thc weight on a railway above.

lVliat I claim as my invention is" In canal propulsion, the means hereindescribed for transporting boats and their freight by the employment ofan elevated railway above the canal, which supports the motive power forthe boats, as well as a part of the weight of the cargo, substantiallyas described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereunto set my handthis 28d day of January, 187 1J..

TIMOTHY J. OTOOLE.

\Vitnesses:

M. DANI.. CoNNoLLv, Evenmin P. EADsoN.

